Morrissey performs at the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg on May 30, 2014.

You’re not going to believe this, but something in the news has Morrissey in a mood.

“Just before I left the hotel, I heard some shocking news on the television,” the patron saint of sad bastardry said from the stage of the Mahaffey Theater Friday night. “Apparently there’s a sinkhole outside Legoland. They spoke about this for 12 and a half minutes, absolutely outraged. ... Try living in Syria.”

And later, for good measure: “Maya Angelou, she’s not even settled in her grave yet, and on the news, they’re worried about Legoland. Is that weird?”

Always the life of the party, this guy.

Twenty-eight years after the Smiths played their final U.S. show at St. Petersburg’s old Bayfront Center, their singer — a little grayer, a little paunchier, a little sweatier, but not one iota less dramatic — returned to more or less the same spot, performing a long-sold-out show for a crowd of 1,998 at the Mahaffey.

The man they call Moz gets a bit of an unfair rap for his overly woe-is-me ways — he’s no grumblier than Radiohead’s Thom Yorke or The National’s Matt Berninger, two of his countless indie-rock disciples — and in truth, he seemed half-kidding about the sinkhole. I think.

But let’s not kid ourselves: Steven Patrick Morrissey’s trade is melodrama, and at 55, business is still pretty damn good. He still possesses the theatrical flair of an aging toreador, a man too grand to smile for the stage lights, and if you expected anything different, sorry, but the exit is thataway.Full Story

-- If you can't wait for Demi Lovato to return to Tampa Bay, you'll have to head to Orlando. The tween-pop queen will play the Amway Center on Sept. 15, with openers Christina Perri and MKTO. Ticktes are $27.50-$67.50 and they'll go on sale June 6. Click here.

-- Synth-pop heroes Erasure will play the Mahaffey Theater on Sept. 14. Tickets are $29-$59, and they'll go on sale June 6. Click here.

-- What is Duncan Sheik doing at the Largo Cultural Center? Booking the Grammy- and Tony-winning songwriter (Barely Breathing, the Broadway musical Spring Awakening) is quite a coup for the venue. He'll play there on Sept. 20; tickets are $19.50-$34.50, and they go on sale June 5. Click here.

-- Also coming to the Largo Cultural Center: Jazz singer Jessy J (not to be confused with the British pop singer Jessie J; now THAT would be a crazy booking) on July 16. Tickets are $16.50-$19.50 and they go on sale June 5. Click here.

-- The Afghan Whigs are coming to the Beacham in Orlando on Sept. 18. Tickets are $25-$30. Click here.

-- Crocodiles are coming to Crowbar on Aug. 22. (The band Crocodiles, not actual crocodiles ... we think). Tickets are $10-$13. Click here. …

Zac Brown Band performs at the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre in Tampa on May 29, 2014.

You think you know what to expect from a Zac Brown Band concert.

You know you’ll get a fiddle-twistin’ hootenanny, for sure, with a few rowdy, genre-busting covers amid their many country-crossover hits. You know people will come primed to party. You know they'll leave having done just that.

Then the Georgia boys go and record a smoky, soulful, Southern rock EP with the Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl. They book two shows at Tampa’s MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre, tagging as an opener one of country music’s brightest young stars, Kacey Musgraves.

And then, at the first of those damn-near-sold-out shows, they say hello by saying goodbye – or, in the words of opening salvo Toes, “Adios, and vaya con dios.” Before long, the whole band is wearing skeleton costumes, jamming away on Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb, and you realize: This is why people come to see Zac Brown time and time again. You just can’t predict how the night’s going to go down. Full Story

Edgar Winter, who used a synthesizer as the lead instrument in the 1973 instrumental jam Frankenstein, is considered a pioneer in electronic rock. The recording topped Billboard charts and sold more than a million copies. He claims to be the first musician to strap a keyboard around his neck and still incorporates the move in his shows, where he also plays sax and percussion.

He's the only member of his original group that's still alive, he says, and plans to be around for a lot longer.

"I'm going out with my boots on," he said in a recent phone interview. "I'll be playing until the day I die."

Ticket details for the Ruth Eckerd Hall show have not been announced (keep checking this page for upcoming details), but

***UPDATE*** Tickets to the Ruth Eckerd Hall show are $40-$115, and they go on sale June 9. Click here. For the Sarasota show, tickets are $47.80-$122.70, and they'll go on sale June 9, according to the venue.

“This is a brilliant moment for me," Boyle said in a statement. "I have spoken so often about wanting to tour America and be able to visit different cities for the first time, I’m so excited. ... The USA embraced and supported me from the beginning and it really feels like a second home so I can't wait to get on the road and perform there.” …

Just as festival season ends in Tampa Bay, we get one of the biggest single concert events of the summer. Well, technically, it's a double-concert event -- a two-night stand from the Zac Brown Band and Kacey Musgraves, above, on Thursday and Friday at the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre in Tampa.

Other big shows happening this week include Morrissey, the Drive-By Truckers, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, D.O.A., Sasha, Keb' Mo', Floor and Deicide. Here to walk you through these shows and more is Ray Roa...Full Story

As charismatic as he seems on video, Tyler Glenn is someone who should be experienced in person.

The Neon Trees lead singer gave hundreds of personal concerts Wednesday night at the Ritz Ybor as his intense gaze seem focused on each fan. He'd stare, strut, stare, spin and glide before buckling his knees and bending forward to squeeze out the notes to the band's riffy, melodic pop crush of sound.

He entered the stage by strutting down a staircase and pointing an LED-lit mic stand, challenging all eyes to be on him for the duration of the night. The intensely personal connection he had with the audience created an atmosphere of camaraderie, and fans were more than willing to oblige when he'd ask them to shout out the lyrics to the hooks as he stood back and soaked in the adulation.

Neon Trees gave a stadium rock performance in venue a 10th of that size for their Pop Psychology Tour, and the closeness provided a good look at the sort of pop retrospective that is the band's catalog. Full Story

For all the hype about the Gasparilla Music Festival, Sunset Music Festival or even Tropical Heatwave, the Clearwater Jazz Holiday remains, for many, Tampa Bay's signature musical experience. It's a label they've sought to embrace in the past couple of years, bringing in bigger-name acts like the Avett Brothers and Bonnie Raitt and (to the chagrin of many) finally deciding to charge for tickets.

Today we've got our first look at the lineup for the 2014 Clearwater Jazz Holiday, Oct. 16-19, and it's once again filled with crowd-pleasers, brass greats and at least one indie-rock outlier.

Earth, Wind and Fire (above); Dr. John and the Night Trippers; Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes and Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue are the biggest names at this year's holiday, along with Spyro Gyra, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Marcia Ball and Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience. At least 10 more artists should be announced in the coming months.

Tickets to the 2014 Clearwater Jazz Holiday start $15 per day. Plenty of multi-day packages and VIP experiences are available at prices up to $150. Tickets go on sale June 2; click here for details.

Don't you ever say an unkind word about the Time! If you (like us) have built your entire effing lives around Morris Day and Jerome, you'll want to check out Morris Day and the Time at the Mahaffey Theater on July 11.

The Tampa Bay Rays might need to announce some new postgame concerts, pronto, because at this rate, they're getting lapped by the Clearwater Threshers.

The Phillies' minor-league franchise already held a free postgame concert by Britney's little sister, Jamie Lynn Spears, this season, and now they've got a few more on the books.

The highlight is a July 11 postgame concert by a pair of '80s and '90s hip-hop greats, Coolio and Slick Rick, following the Threshers' game against Palm Beach. Then on Aug. 15, it's "90s Night," with a concert by reunited boy band O-Town following the Threshers and Lakeland Flying Tigers.

First up, on May 30, is a concert by Journey tribute band Departure; then on July 20, the Hunks of Funk and Black Honkeys will perform.

For a full schedule of the Threshers' 2014 season promotions, click here.

How do you go from being a top contender on NBC's The Voice to performing at a public library in New Port Richey?

Good question. But Grace Askew is up to the challenge.

"I'm assuming it will be a great listening audience, which is what I prefer, after years of playing in loud, rowdy bars," said the country-rock singer, who made the Top 32 on Season 4 of The Voice. "This will be a much-welcomed atmosphere, ha!"

Askew's first official concert in Florida takes place at 6 p.m. Thursday at the New Port Richey Library, 5939 Main Street. For info on the free show, call (727) 853-1279.

-- Rarely does a band like REO Speedwagon play such an intimate venue as the Hard Rock Cafe, located inside Tampa's Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. So when the Hard Rock shared with us this photo from Sunday's concert, we figured we'd share it with you. Enjoy!

-- They just played the Tampa Bay Margarita Festival this weekend, but Los Lonely Boys are already planning a return trip to the area, booking an Oct. 22 show at the Capitol Theatre. Tickets are $31.75-$38.75. Click here.

-- The Sunset Music Festival just ended, and already, a couple more big-time DJs are coming to town. This Friday, check out Sasha at the Hyde Park Cafe in Tampa (tickets are $10-$15; click here). And on Aug. 10, Feed Me will be at the Ritz Ybor in Tampa. Tickets to that one are $18, and they go on sale Friday. Click here.

-- Hed(PE) is coming to the State Theatre on July 17. Tickets are $15 and they go on sale Friday. Click here.

As fans evacuated the Sunset Music Festival on Sunday, scampering for shelter inside Raymond James Stadium, the man most of them came to see was completing a mad dash of his own.

Hardwell, who headlined Day 2 of Tampa’s massive electronic music festival, had just landed in the Sunshine State after performing at the Snake Pit, an infield party at the Indy 500.

“It’s a different crowd,” Hardwell mused with a laugh, sitting backstage before taking the stage at Sunset. “I don’t usually play for a crowd that old. But it’s cool.”

When you’re 25 and regarded as the world’s best DJ, you’ll roll with just about anything. The Dutch artist born Robbert van de Corput is one of EDM’s most in-demand stars, a burgeoning multimedia mogul whose influence is so great that nearly every song with his name on it rockets onto playlists at clubs around the world. …

A rainbow formed as Cash Cash performed on the main stage as the Sunset Music Festival resumed following an hour-plus delay due to severe weather.

(For a recap of Day 1 of the Sunset Music Festival, with Zedd, Paul van Dyk and Benny Benassi, click here.)

With a rainbow hanging in the sky east of Raymond James Stadium, New Jersey electronic duo Cash Cash strode onto the main stage of the Sunset Music Festival, waving an American flag and blasting, of all songs, Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A.

Talk about a release. This was the sort of moment music festivals are made for – and it was dearly needed on Sunset’s second day, which was nearly derailed by severe weather that shut down the music and forced officials to evacuate more than 20,000 fans.

But after an hour-plus delay, as soon as Cash Cash started blaring Bruce, fans in the crowd screamed and waved their flags, too – and just like that, Mother Nature was more or less forgiven. By the end of the night, the soggy, scantily clad bros and coeds who waited out the weather got the festival they came for and then some.

Even the artists could sense a renewed sense of catharsis and camaraderie among fans after the storm.

“They came to party, and the music shut down for at least an hour,” said Dutch DJ Hardwell, Sunset’s Day 2 headliner. “So when they’re back in the field, I can understand: They’re full of excitement that the festival continues, and I think it’s a great thing.” Full Story